


From Caterpillar to Monarch: The Royal Family of Gilboa

by Mici (noharlembeat)



Category: Kings
Genre: Epistolary, F/M, Gen, M/M, News Media, Post-Series, Times Magazine, spoilers for the Bible...I guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-20 05:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1498273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noharlembeat/pseuds/Mici
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A foreign media's take on the reign of King David Shepherd</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Caterpillar to Monarch: The Royal Family of Gilboa

**Author's Note:**

> I read a piece on Saudi Arabia in Time Magazine, and I thought - what would this world think about David and his reign? 
> 
> (Thank you to Pixy, who makes me want to write)

It’s no surprise to anyone that President Hamilton went on his first diplomatic excursion to the kingdom of Gilboa, to begin negotiations in earnest with the nation, whose newly discovered gold vein that will enrich the small kingdom to become one of the top three economies on earth. In fact, the images from the trip: the president bowing, ever so slightly, as he takes the king of Gilboa’s hand is striking in the differences between the two leaders. The president with his silver hair and his lined features in contrast to the young, golden king of Gilboa makes the entire country question who exactly is this king, and when did monarchy become so fashionable?

Gilboa’s youth may be one of the reasons that their monarchy operates as well as it does. Once a factioned group of warring clans, the last thirty years have seen wild changes for the nation. The Unification, followed by two wars and an internal rebellion would have seen other nations crumble under the weight of their own economic debt. But time and time again Gilboa rallies, and Shiloh is one of the leading cities in the world, glittering and glowing, full of vibrancy and passion. It hosts two fashion weeks. It has one of the leading hospitals in the world. It boasts one of the most research-focused Universities on the planet. And above it all is the myth of the king, first Silas, and now David.

When watching David Shepherd speak, it’s impossible to not be drawn to his passion. Whatever he’s discussing, from politics to economics to his breakfast, his charisma is irresistible, even when one gets the idea that he’s not particularly engaged by the topic at hand. He’s irrepressibly golden when he smiles, and even more impressive when he’s stern, leading men with a kind of grace that the country’s official line states comes from God himself. 

The most perplexing part of David Shepherd is, unlike Silas Benjamin before him, nothing seems to break down upon closer examination. Sitting down to an interview with him he seems almost uninterested in power, or that he’s poised to be the head of a country whose annual GDP will overturn the Austerian GDP by almost double. Instead he possesses a genuineness that would be naive in anyone else on his care for the people of Gilboa, and unlike his predecessor, he’s willing to expand that scope of interest from beyond the city limits of his glowing capitol city. His decrees are made with a confidence and a certainty that should be reckless, but rather turn out to be blessed with fortune and luck. 

It helps, of course, that when he smiles people are drawn to him, as evidenced by any court or council meeting, and that he relies so heavily on his ministers and advisers, who are generally appointed and not elected. Gilboa has no senate, no formal representative system, and no parliament. There is a system of courts, but they answer directly to a council of judges who answer to the Minister of Justice, who of course, answers to David Shepherd. It’s a perplexing system that he’s inherited from Silas Benjamin and he seems uninterested in changing it.

He’s bolstered by his queen, who, as princess, was often described as the heart of Gilboa. Michelle Benjamin is the kindest and warmest person in her famously aloof family, dedicated to her charity and to her son, who is currently David’s heir and next in line to the throne. David’s relationship with his queen is publicly formal, unlike Hamilton’s own famously warm and loving relationship with his first lady. But it’s not his marriage that made him king, only his marriage that cemented it, and that leaves question of legacy and what will be left for his son, when Silas’ own heir was passed over for the crown.

His relationship with Austeria, and the Austerian president, who spent a week in Shiloh and later touring the southern part of the country (whose new growth, thanks to Crossgen’s efforts into branching out bioengineering and biomedical research labs, has been staggering) with both the king and his young queen, has been the subject of controversy in Austeria for the past few weeks. The President has gone under fire from right-wing politicians and activists, who claim that he is kowtowing to the whims of a boy-king without any thought for the best interests of Austeria for the sake of foreign trade agreements that may not benefit the nation, and from the left-wing media for dealing with a monarchy whose military dealings may or may not be above board. The question of the Gilboan military, bolstered by new blood, new men, and Goliath tanks purchased from Gath, rests primarily on leaks from inside of Unity Hall regarding covert operations headed by Prince Jonathan Benjamin.

In fact, the matter of the Prince is murky. Having led his own unsuccessful coup against his father, both the Gilboan media and the king, when asked, are adamant about his loyalty to the monarchy. Perhaps it is his twin’s presence as queen, or his appeasement by the retention of his title, his inheritance of Crossgen, and his official position as the king’s right hand, the prince has made no noise and no motions towards rebellion. In fact, his behavior has calmed significantly in the time he has been at David’s side.

But there are those who question his loyalties anyway, both in and outside of the government. At a press conference, recently, he was accused of holding too much power at the same time he was accused of not doing enough for the queen’s many charities. There is no agreement, it seems, on exactly what a prince from a failed bloodline should be doing with his time, but the consensus at least seems to be to stay out of positions of power. 

But there is no question that Jonathan Benjamin has the king’s ear and is advising him on everything from economics to table settings, and is easily one of the three most powerful men in the country. And David listens. At a recent negotiation agreement, it was the prince who led the brunt of the negotiations, and David who finally decided on the final terms, but there is no question that the two of them operate as a team. Ambassador Kline, on a recent visit, discovered that there is nothing to be said to the young king that his brother-in-law does not hear, and David is fiercely protective of Jonathan’s reputation. 

So when the question of dismissing Jonathan from trade agreements was raised by Hamilton, primarily to satisfy media concerns and to assuage left-wing protests in Austeria, David refused to return to the table. This of course, raises new questions of who is guiding this conversation, and should the Austerian government support a monarchy at all, especially one that answers so completely to the whims of a man whose nation claims he is touched by God?

But meeting David it becomes increasingly difficult to deny him. He makes it seem so reasonable, so natural, and so logical to follow him. It’s no wonder that Hamilton came back singing the praises of the Gilboan king, and even the Gilboan monarchy.

Some analysts wonder if this will hurt Hamilton’s chances for re-election next year. The strengthening of this alliance comes with the loss of support, and leaves his advisers scrambling to wonder: is it worth the cost?

It takes a blind man to not see how the media frenzy around the Gilboan royal family, from style choices to public appearances in restaurants and museums, along with an avid fanbase (and they can only be called that, the young people of Gilboa and other countries who devote copious time and attention to saving and preserving images of the royal family for no other reason than their charisma and charm) creates a certain element of sensationalism. And for Austeria, whose leader is becoming more and more involved with the Gilboan state of affairs, it becomes a question of who is leading who? A cynic would say it doesn’t matter, that either way, we may be culturally swallowed, as more and more temples begin to appear, rallying behind the call of a God who most countries accept only as a formality, as Gilboan media and Gilboan customs enter our country, and as our president continues to endorse the royal family, that we will assimilate into them.

But seeing this king, the true question is, would we be worse for it?


End file.
